by Zuri Day
Once outside the restaurant, the two women hugged. “Thanks for dinner,” Ariel said.
“You’re welcome.” Eden started toward her car.
“Oh, and Eden?” Eden turned around. “Jansen’s thinking about you. He’s hungry, and not for anything in his fridge.”
Ariel winked and was gone before Eden could reply. Eden pulled out her phone and tapped her brother’s picture. She’d rather call someone else, but Michael was the easiest way to get Jansen’s number. Eden smiled, thinking that for all her talk of stardust and fairies, there was definitely something to Ariel’s psychic gift. Eden’s mind had gone to Jansen just before Ariel had called out to her. She’d been wondering what he was doing at the very moment Ariel had said he was thinking about her, had been thinking of one of his last statements before arriving to the surprise of Michael back home. If dessert is what you want, Jansen McKnight, dessert is what you’ll get. Eden headed to the mall, mentally planning the rest of her evening and how a silk-wrapped caramel-chocolate surprise was going to end up on Jansen’s doorstep.
22
Eden had just left the mall and was on her way to Michael’s house when her phone rang. “Hey, Michael.”
“Hey, sis. So check this out. The man just finished installing my new alarm system.”
“I see you didn’t waste any time implementing Jansen’s suggestion.”
“Of course not! When it comes to thieves and protection, Jansen knows his stuff. Anyway, I need to give you the code. I’ll show you all the other details tonight, or tomorrow if I get back too late.”
“Oh, you’re going out?”
“Yeah, going to meet up with a little honey I left simmering before my trip.”
“What happened to the chick you were seeing when I came here house hunting six months ago?”
“Bridgett—that’s who I’m talking about.”
“All right, now! She’s passed the six-month mark. When do I meet her?”
“Maybe this week. I’m heading back to London soon for an extended stay. I’m thinking of taking her with me.”
“Wow, sounds serious. You know how Mom’s been talking about grandkids. You’re almost forty, big brother. It’s time for you to settle down.”
“You may be right.”
Wow, he’s for real. There was only one other time Eden could remember Michael talking this serious about someone, which was also the one and only time she could remember him getting his heart broken—when his fiancée had broken their engagement because, as she’d put it, she was “revisiting her sexuality.”
Michael gave Eden the security code and prepared to end the call. “All right then, Eden, later.”
“No, Michael, wait. I need to get something from you.” Eden hesitated, nervous as to how Michael would react to her request. There’s only one way to find out. “What’s Jansen’s number?”
“You mean homeboy is hitting it, and you don’t even have his number?”
“I never said Jansen was hitting it, Michael. That was your assumption. And, no, I don’t have his number because I didn’t need his number. We were staying in the same house, remember?”
“I would think that if Jansen was that interested in keeping in touch, he would have gotten your number.”
“Look, Michael, I have a daddy, and you aren’t him. If you don’t want to give me the number, don’t. But don’t give me advice I didn’t ask for either, because I don’t need it!”
“Fine. I won’t.” The click in Eden’s ear was Michael’s good-bye.
Eden gripped the wheel, frustration flowing to her very core. How dare Michael try to run my life! “We’re not kids anymore!” she hissed aloud. At the end of the day, she knew Michael was just being Michael. He had tried to tell her what to do from the time he rocked her cradle, and most of the time she’d let him. Come to think of it, this was the first time she’d truly gone against his opinion or not taken his advice. But there was a first time for everything, and when it came to Jansen, Eden appreciated her brother’s concern but knew she had to follow her heart. She thought of the silky gold nightie she’d found that came with a matching thong. “Oh, brother, why do you have to be the hitch in my giddyup?” Eden sighed as she exited the freeway, wondering if she should stop and get a video, because unless Ariel’s tarot cards or intuition could provide her with Jansen’s telephone number, it looked like it would definitely be another long night.
An hour later, Eden felt better. She’d come home, poured herself a glass of woodsy pinot noir, and was now enjoying both it and the CD Ariel had suggested she download, while soaking in a tub of bubbly hot water. The near-constant tension she carried in her neck and shoulder area (her mother said this came from Eden trying to carry the weight of the world) eased as Eden sank deeper into the baby-oil-infused water. She reached for her wineglass, repositioned her bath pillow, and closed her eyes. If she couldn’t be in Jansen’s arms, she’d bask in this paradise of her own making.
Her cell phone rang. Oh, please, not now. Eden knew it was her mother calling, and she didn’t want to move. But then she remembered that Phyllis had called earlier, when Eden was in a checkout line at the mall. She’d forgotten all about calling her back. Eden thought about switching off the call but then changed her mind. She and her mother talked almost every day. “Make it quick, Mom,” Eden said after allowing the call and pushing the speaker button. “I’m enjoying a delicious soak, and you’re an interruption.”
“Then that’s all the more reason to make this break worth your while.”
Jansen! Eden almost dropped her wineglass into the tub. As it was, the water sloshed from side to side from her abrupt change in position. “Jansen! Hey! How’d you get my number?”
“After enduring an interrogation that would make the FBI proud, your brother gave it to me.”
Eden smiled. “Oh. So what’s up?”
“You even have to ask?”
Was it just her, or did her hot water just get hotter?
“Looks like my timing is perfect. After you finish your bath, just wrap yourself in a towel and head straight to my house. That’ll save me a step or two.”
“Who says that, one, I’d even come over to your house and, two, if I did, that there would be any undressing involved?”
Jansen chuckled. Eden grew wet, and the water in the tub was not the reason. “Baby girl,” he answered, his voice low and soft, “I could barely do my job today for thinking about finishing what we started. I called Mike last night, but I guess he was asleep. I called him again as soon as I got off work. Nothing was more important to me than getting your number. Of course, I felt like an ass for not having it in the first place. And then to have to go through your chaperone . . .”
“Michael means well.”
“I know that.”
The sound of sloshing water could be heard as Eden lifted herself out of the tub and reached for the large, fluffy white towels she’d purchased that would accompany her to her new home.
“Mmmm, baby, I can just imagine how you look with those rivulets of water running down your body between those soft titties and that nice and trimmed cat I’m going to lick tonight.”
Eden’s legs almost buckled, even as her face broke out with a smile. “Stop talking nasty.”
Jansen stretched his legs in front of him to accommodate his growing erection. “Talking isn’t the only nasty that’s going to happen tonight.”
“Oh, is that a fact?” Eden purred.
“No, baby, that’s a promise. Now key my address into your phone and then get over here before I have to put out an APB for my stuff.”
23
The air felt warm, almost moist against Eden’s bare skin. Tendrils of hair swung close to her nose, teasing her with a whiff of the vanilla-and-gardenia-infused perfume she’d sprayed in it after deciding to let it hang loose and free. Eden felt wanton and sexy as she neared Jansen’s front door. She wore the barely there gold nighty as a top, paired with wide-legged pants—shear, paisley-print f
abric flecked with black and gold. At the last minute, she’d slipped out of her flat leather sandals and into a pair of four-inch shiny black stilettos.
Eden reached her destination and rang the doorbell. Almost instantly the door opened and Jansen pulled her into his arms. Kicking the door closed, he immediately assaulted her mouth, plunging his tongue deep inside, rubbing her back, arms, and butt with his large, strong hands. “Damn, baby. . . .” Jansen broke the kiss but kept his arms securely around Eden’s body. She’d wrapped her arms around his waist and now luxuriated in his protective embrace. He smelled so clean and fresh and . . . male. Both of their hearts beat wildly. Jansen squeezed Eden’s luscious butt cheeks while she turned her head to place a kiss on his bare chest. It was hard and soft at the same time—hard with muscle and perfectly placed sinew, soft with skin that was warm to the touch. The merest hint of hair lay across his chest, a trail of it continuing down his stomach and into his crotch.
“Little garden, let me look at you.” Jansen stepped away from Eden and eyed her from head to toe. Eden grew warm under his perusal but met his stare head-on. There was no place for a shrinking violet anywhere among what she’d envisioned for the evening. Jansen licked his lips, and her nipples hardened. “You’re looking even better than the last time I saw you.”
“You look good, too,” Eden answered as she did her own quick head-to-toe. Jansen’s dress was simple: a pair of black, pull-on pajama pants that rode his hips. No shirt, no shoes. The attire gave Eden an unobstructed view of perfection and caused the now familiar squiggle to begin its dance.
“Mmmm,” Jansen began, pulling Eden farther into his home. “You make a brothah forget his manners. Are you hungry? Want something to drink?”
“I’ve already eaten, but maybe something to drink.”
A few minutes later, Jansen came back into the living room with a bottle of beer and a glass of wine. “I knew this is what you’d want,” he said, handing her the stemmed glass.
“Ah, thanks for thinking of me.” She took a small sip.
“I told you that is all I’ve been doing since last night, when our date was rather rudely interrupted. After talking with you earlier, I ran out real quick—bought some wine and some . . . healthy junk.”
“Ha! And what, pray tell, fits your description of that?”
Jansen reclined against the couch. “Some salad, nuts—I even bought some of those nasty patties you fix.”
Eden was touched and impressed. But she hid suddenly vulnerable feelings behind a jokey facade. “Dang, Jansen, I appreciate the gesture, but it’s not like I’m moving in.”
“Maybe not,” Jansen answered, pulling Eden into his arms. “But we’re getting ready to work up quite the appetite.”
Eden nestled into Jansen’s embrace. They shared a companionable silence as they sipped their drinks. “I like your place.”
“You haven’t even seen it yet.”
“Well, what I have seen, I like. It looks like you and doesn’t have that bachelor-pad vibe I envisioned. You know the look: black leather, wild-animal prints, and a nude painting or two thrown in for good measure.”
“Nah, all that is upstairs,” Jansen joked.
Eden looked around and took in the understated elegance of a room designed to be functional yet warm. The tan sofa sectional dominated the space, a dark cherry wood bringing balance with the large square coffee table and dining room table beyond it. A sleek entertainment center dominated one wall, its doors accented with large bronze knobs. The other wall in the room was bare except for a metal carving of Chinese symbols and two complementing abstract paintings.
Eden’s perusal was interrupted by a hand reaching into her top and gently squeezing her nipple. “Let’s go upstairs,” Jansen whispered. She nodded. He stood, reached for hand, and led the way.
The master suite was at the end of a short hallway. Eden could see the glow of candles before they entered the room. Once inside, her eyes immediately went to the king-size platform bed that dominated the space, made up with fabrics in chocolate and gray. The headboard was tall, almost to the ceiling, and seemed to be made out of the same wood as the tables downstairs. Eden was vaguely aware of the pewter candle holders from which the flames danced, but then Jansen turned around, and her eyes were for him alone.
“Come here.” Jansen looked massive and majestic, his authoritative voice matching his stance.
Eden complied. When she reached him, Jansen buried his hands in her hair, gently pushed her head back, and rained kisses down on her face and neck. While he claimed her mouth, branding each crevice with his tongue, Jansen reached underneath her top, felt the elastic band around her pants, and eased them downward. He went down with them, easing himself into a kneeling position as he silently commanded her to step out of the material now pooled on the floor. He pulled her close to him, buried his head in her heat, and inhaled deeply. “Mmmm . . .” His tongue was stiff and forceful as he licked her there through the wispy fabric of the thong. Eden shivered, placing a steadying hand on Jansen’s shoulder.
“Spread your legs.” Again, Eden complied. At the moment, Jansen could have told her to turn a flip from the top banister to the floor below—and she would have complied. Jansen eased a finger between the flimsy thong material and Eden’s hot skin. He looked up and into Eden’s eyes as he slowly stroked her rectangular patch of hair. He ran a finger along the folds to her treasure. She looked at him for a moment before her eyes fluttered closed. For this reason, she didn’t see when Jansen’s tongue replaced his finger, only felt the wet tip as it slid inside her heat and flicked her petal, just like he said he would. The apex of her thighs felt the void as soon as Jansen raised his head and ran his tongue up to her navel. He squeezed her lush booty as he placed feathery kisses across her waist and then reached for the thong’s string and pulled. He eased the triangle of fabric down her legs and then stood, picked up Eden, and walked to the bed.
Eden’s breath caught as she was whisked up in Jansen’s arms. She felt the evidence of his desire while pressed against him, which was only for a moment. Jansen reached the bed and placed her at the center of it. He stepped back and released the drawstring on his pants. Nine inches of throbbing masculinity danced before her, like a fencer’s sword or a ballplayer’s slugger. His dick was thick and perfectly formed. With her ex-husband, Eden hadn’t been too into oral sex, but at this moment her mouth watered with anticipation. She wanted to taste Jansen the way he’d tasted her.
But not yet. Jansen had other plans. He eased onto the bed, reached for Eden’s top and pulled it over her head. His eyes drank in the body he’d viewed with new eyes ever since seeing Eden again after so many years. “You’re even more beautiful than I imagined.” He slid his body next to Eden’s as his lips grazed hers. He continued his assault, on her neck and shoulders, all the while flicking and rubbing one nipple and then the other with his thumb. By the time he covered the hardened peaks with his mouth, Eden was on fire. Her body writhed this way and that. Jansen was driving her crazy, and after four years without intercourse, she wanted to feel his hard, thick flesh inside her, and she wanted to feel it now.
“Jansen, now, please . . .”
“Baby, I want to take my time with you. You taste so good. . . .”
“Please . . . I need it. . . .”
Jansen placed his hand between her legs and slid his middle finger in deep. “You need it, or you need me. I want you to need me, baby . . . only me.”
“I need . . .” Eden couldn’t think, much less talk, with Jansen’s hand causing such delicious sensations throughout her body.
Jansen slid down farther, and soon, once again, his tongue replaced his finger. But this time his strokes were deep and aggressive, branding her with his hotness, driving her over the abyss with the sweetest torture.
Just as Eden felt the tremors of an oncoming orgasm, Jansen stopped, rolled over, and reached toward his nightstand. “No, don’t . . .” she whimpered.
Jansen quickly unr
olled the condom and shielded his sword. “Eden, do you want me? Do you need me?” He placed his shaft at the tip of her entrance, taunting, teasing. . . .
“Yes!” Eden gasped.
“Then say it.”
Eden reached for his hips, tried to force him inside her.
“Say it,” he murmured, grinding his hips and slipping in just a bit more.
“I want you,” Eden murmured. “I need you, Jansen. Please, I need you now!”
“And you are going to have me, all of me, for as long as you can stand it.”
Jansen inched his way inside her, giving her body time to adjust to his size. And then, for the next hour and a half, their hot, impassioned lovemaking was the only conversation.
24
“Damn, man! What’s up with this whistling?” Alberto closed the passenger door of the police cruiser and buckled his seatbelt. “Did you win the lottery or something?”
Jansen went through a quick check of the radio, mirrors, and laptop. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Jay, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were on the rag. Yesterday you barely said two words and then almost snapped my head off when I made the observation. Now today you’re whistling and grinning like . . . Wait a minute. Of course! The feline!”
Jansen shot a quick glance at Alberto. “You’re reading too much into my good mood. You need to get out more, son.”
“From the way you’re acting all chipper after a little cho cha . . . you don’t need to get out more, you just need to get more.”
“You might be right,” Jansen agreed, refusing to say more about how one night with one woman had turned his world upside-down. In the past, it wouldn’t have been unusual for Jansen to kiss and tell, to rehash with Alberto a night of freaking some lovely. But nobody would hear about what he and Eden had shared. The beauty of that was special and for them alone.
